Pro-dancer Cooley Jaxson says he was one of the people to show him the move. Professional dancer Cooley Jaxson, who danced with Michael Jackson for seven years, shows how he does the "back slide," which the singer later coined the "moonwalk."

Did Michael Jackson invent moonwalk?

Even though the move wasn't the King of Pop's original brainchild, he does get credit for renaming it “The Moonwalk”. ... Jackson did the moonwalk for the first time in 1983, performing his hit song Billie Jean on a TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.

Why is moonwalk so hard?

Like most things that look effortless, the moonwalk is tough to master. Keeping your leg straight and your foot flat while dragging it requires a lot of balance and precision. ... The timing of lowering one heel while dragging the opposite foot must also be exact.